Slice backhand dinks has been of our most requested video topics and we’re excited to bring that information to you here in this video/blog.
Mastering the backhand slice dink is crucial if you are looking to become a high level pickleball player.
It’s no secret that opponents often attack the backhand as it is generally the weaker side.
So you simply must work on it. There is no way around that.
It is important to keep the ball low and get aggressive with your dinks because you need to accomplish two things with this one shot:
1) Prevent your backhand dink from getting attacked
2) Set up your attack with your backhand dink
Jordan does a great job in this video/blog of breaking down all the elements of a successful super slice backhand dink so you can start dominating with your backhand. Yes, it is possible!
Here’s Jordan…
When people are dinking cross-court, I’m talking about like a right hander, from the odd side to the odd side, a lot of people just dink flat and they’re just pushing the ball up.
This is a good dink. It’s really consistent. But, it’s going to be a little bit easier to attack then the slice backhand dink.
Some advantages of this shot, the slice backhand dink, is that it stays low to the ground. It’s a little bit more risky because you’re getting close to the net compared to a regular push dink.
But, it has a lot of advantages because it makes it harder to attack and it also can really back your opponent up off the non-volley zone line because after you hit this shot the ball will stay low and your opponents are going to have to decide if they’re going to take these balls out of the air as a volley or they’re going to let it drop.
Usually a good reply to this backhand slice dink is another slice dink.
The very first thing that I want to talk about when you’re hitting this shot is positioning. Positioning is vital if you want this slice dink to be successful.
Positioning is the most important thing on the shot or it’s going to be very difficult to execute the shot in a good manner.
As my practice partner is hitting these shots to my backhand I’ll have two options.
I’m either going to slide step or if he pulls me out really wide it’s okay to cross step and put some extra slice on it.
After he pulls be to the side or out wide the most important thing is to get back up to your ready position to guard this middle if he chooses to hit there.
I’m moving my feet early, getting in to position. I’m not moving and hitting the ball the ball at the same time. I get in position and then I execute the shot.
Breakdown Of The Shot
The very first thing you want to do after you get in position is you want to load your non-dominant leg, turn your shoulders and set your paddle in your non-dominant hand.
In this setup I’m getting ready to swing through this ball. Swing about 40 degrees down and through.
As I come through my weight transfer goes across my body to the other leg.
As you as you can see on majority of these slice dinks your paddle is going to come approximately around your shoulder height to start off.
The other important thing to note is that I use very little wrist action. This is not a
wristy shot. I’m not flicking it or having really fast movements with my hand.
My arm isn’t locked. My elbow is a little bit bent when starting off. You extend your elbow as you swing out. You’ll have a “U-Shaped” swing: high to low to high.
It’s really important that you stay low to the ground for the shot. It’s very hard to execute this shot if you’re standing straight up.
You’re going to have to experiment with this. One of the things that you’re going to notice as you’re taking some of these slice backhand dinks is you’re going to have to let these balls bounce.
Some of these shots you can get in the air but what a lot of players like to do is to let it drop and they’re going to hit the slice dink because it’s just a much harder ball for your opponent to attack because the ball stays so low and it has that spin to it.
The last thing is I really want to make sure I’m doing is I’m keeping my eye on the ball through contact and I’m hitting the ball out in front of me.
I always want to move to where the ball is going, get into position, load my weight, come across my body, and then my weight from my leg goes to my other leg as I come across and hit that ball. After I hit, I’m going back into ready position at the non-volley zone line.
To hit this super slice dink, which is going to be harder ball for your opponent to handle, you’ve got to step back and allow the ball to bounce when you hit the shot.
Remember those key things.
This is a shot that’s going to take practice. It’s going to be a lot less attackable for your opponent but it is a little riskier.
But, if you get in the groove and you learn how to slice and keep that ball low you’re going to win a lot more points on your backhand side.
A lot of people like to pick on that backhand side.
Go out there and practice getting that slice, keeping that ball low, and it will back your opponent up off the line and cause some errors as they try to decide if they’re going to hit it in the air or off the bounce.
